Famous Feng Shui Places in China

Famous Fengshui Places in China (1)

Hangzhou: Tianmu's lingering veins, beautiful mountains and clear waters

Hangzhou, formerly known as Lin'an, was the capital of Wu Yue Kingdom in the Five Dynasties and the Southern Song Dynasty.

Hangzhou is located in the north of Zhejiang, where the Grand Canal intersects with the Qiantang River. Its northwest is Tianmu Mountain, southwest and southeast are Longmen Mountain and Kuaiji Mountain. It is picturesque, and the feudal rulers are happy to be intoxicated by the lakes and mountains, so they built their capital here. So Song Dynasty poet Lin Sheng reprimanded: "When is the West Lake singing and dancing off the outside of the Qingshanlou outside the mountain? The warm wind makes the tourists drunk, and only Hangzhou is used as Bianzhou."

Regarding the geomantic omen in Hangzhou, Tian Rucheng recorded in the "West Lake Touring History" that Yang Mengying, the county guard in the third year of Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty (1508), said: "The veins of Hangzhou originate from the Tianmu, and the mountains and hills fly in Qiantang. Between the rivers and lakes, The mountains stop and the water gather, the vitality merges...the south cross Wushan, the north is the martial arts, the left is the Yangtze River, and the right is the Huqu, so the whole situation is very complicated, and the spirit of the city is beautiful.

There are three unique features of Hangzhou Fengshui: One is that the Geling Mountain is a place of beauty. Qixialing-Gelingshan-Gemshan are connected by three mountains, which spread out in an arc to the south with Gelingshan as the center, collectively called Beishan. The foot of the mountain is Beishan Road from Broken Bridge to Yuefen; here is a section of the gentle slope of Beishan. The northwest is leaning against the mountain, the southeast is facing the lake, near the Gushan Mountain, and far away there is the sunset and the Yuhuang Mountain. The mountains and rivers are connected with a wide view, with Baochu Pagoda Mountain as the background, Leifeng Sunset as the opposite scene, Nanping Mountain and Yuhuang Mountain as borrowed scenes, Baochu Pagoda and Leifeng Pagoda connecting north and south to form the central axis of West Lake, with Leifeng Pagoda as the focus Point, constitute a beautiful landscape painting of West Lake.

The second is that there is a good place on the banks of the Xixi River. From Lingyin via Yuquan to Zhejiang University, it is the Lingyin Valley, which is actually an ancient flood alluvial fan, which is a transitional section from hills to plains. The north slope of the valley is Lingfeng Mountain-Beauty Mountain-Jiangjun Mountain-Laohe Mountain; the south slope is Qixia Mountain-Geling Mountain-Jewel Mountain. The third is to build an imperial city at the foot of Phoenix Mountain. After Song Huizong was captured, his nine son Zhao Gou fled south to build the capital of Hangzhou and became Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty. At that time, Gaozong invited famous Fengshui masters from all over the country to investigate in Hangzhou, and finally selected Fengshui Mountain to build the imperial inner part. It starts from Fengshan Gate in the north, ends at the Jianggan area in the south, from Hou Chaomen in the east, reaches Wansongling in the west, and Phoenix Mountain "with a radius of nine miles" is located in the southwest of West Lake, with Jiuhua Mountain in the north, Jiangtai Mountain in the south, and eastward between the three mountains. The unfolding valleys are all alluvial fan-shaped land of Gukou ancient floods, and the ground undulates gently. Gangqiu, which extends eastward from Phoenix Mountain, became the main mountain of the "Xuanwu" of Ouchi Palace. In the past, Taishan Mountain was called "Suzaku" Mountain, Mantou Mountain was "Qinglong" Zuofu in the east, Ciyunling was "White Tiger" Youbi in the west, and the East River was buckled. To the southeast, you can overlook the Qiantang tide, and to the northwest you can see the beautiful scenery of West Lake. Leaning on mountains and rivers, advance and retreat freely. This is especially important for the Southern Song court who fled south for peace.

Famous Fengshui Places in China (2)

Beijing: Mountains in the north and plains in the south

As the capital, Beijing has a history of more than 3,000 years. The descendants of Zhou Wu Wang Feng Yao's descendants were called "Jiqiu" at that time, and later became the capital of Yan State. In the Liao Dynasty, Beijing was the accompanying capital, and it was called Yanjing or Nanjing. The Jin Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing in 1153 and changed its name to Zhongdu, which has since become the political center of the country. In the Yuan Dynasty, with Beijing as its capital, the construction of Beijing based on the principle of "the frontiers and the future markets, the left ancestors and the right society" established the scale of Beijing. In the early Ming Dynasty, the capital Yingtian (now Nanjing), in order to kill the imperial qi of the Yuan Dynasty, demolished the palace of the Yuan Dynasty and moved the north wall to the south. Ming Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing. In order to reflect the core position of the imperial power, the central axis of the city was moved 150 meters to the east. The newly built palaces were all on the central axis, and a Jingshan was built in the north of the line to protect the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty. Wang Qi, so that the Ming Dynasty can have long-term stability. In the Qing Dynasty, Beijing was still used as the capital, and the earth altar, sun altar, and moon altar were added for offering sacrifices. There is the Temple of Heaven in the south of Beijing, the Temple of Earth in the north, the Temple of Sun in the east, and the Temple of Moon in the west, which represent the former Suzaku, the back Xuanwu, the left green dragon, and the right white tiger.

The reason why Beijing has always been a military and political center is related to its geographical situation. It is located between the North China Plain, the Mongolian Plateau in the Northwest, and the Songliao Plain in the Northeast. The Yanshan Mountains are in the northwest, the Taihang Mountains in the southwest, the North China Plain to the south, and the Bohai Bay to the east. The Shandong Peninsula and the Liaodong Peninsula surround the Bohai Sea and become a barrier to guard Beijing. Beijing is surrounded by dangerous mountains to the north and dominates the plains to the south. It lies between the small plains of Beijing, the southern great plains, and the northern mountains, which inevitably attracted the attention of the sages of the past.

Batunan, a Mongolian aristocrat in the Yuan Dynasty, strongly recommended Beijing to Kublai Khan. "Yuan Shi·Batulu" records the Batunan language: "The land of secluded swallows, dragons and tigers, the situation is majestic, the south controls the Jianghuai, and the north Lianshuo Desert. And the emperor must be in the center to receive the pilgrimage from all directions, the king Guo wants to run the world, and the place where he resides must be swallows.” So Kublai decided to take the capital in swallows.

Scholars in the Yuan Dynasty knew that Beijing's geographical location was important. Tao Zongyi described Beijing in "Nancun Stopping Farming Records" as "supporting Taihang on the right, focusing on the Canghai on the left, fussing the Central Plains, facing the south, living in the middle of the land, laying a foundation for the future".

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang captured Peking (Beijing) and asked the minister if he could build the capital here. The officials believed that this was the place where the country was subjugated in the Yuan Dynasty. The Hanlin Xiu wrote Bao Pin said: Hu Zhu started from the desert, founded the country in Yan, and it has been a hundred years, and the earth's energy is exhausted. There is no need to change the map of Nanjing Xingwang Land.

After Ming Chengzu drove away Emperor Minghui in the battle of Jingnan, he was unwilling to go to Nanjing to become emperor, and he intentionally stayed in Beijing. He believed that Beijing was his fief (it was called Yanjing at the time). Long Qian was here and he had many business operations. What is good at the top, the bottom must be met, and his ministers all agreed. The "Ming Shilu·Taizong Shilu" records the sparse of the officials: "Fusion is Beijing, the land of Longxing, the north is located in the Yong, the west is the Taihang, the east is connected to the mountains and the sea, overlooking the Central Plains, the fertile fields, the mountains and rivers are enough to control the Siyi, Rule the world and become the capital of emperors forever."

Ming people generally believed that it was a wise move to make Beijing the capital. The "Shun Tian Fu Zhi" compiled during the Wanli period said: "Yanhuan Canghai thinks it is a pond, holds Taihang thinks it is a danger, rests on the mediocrity and stays in the middle to control the outside, lifts the weight to control the light with the aid of the river, and the east and the west tribute to the world The dynasty, the pheasant of the nine borders of the northwestern gates, is strong for ten thousand years, and has security for hundreds of generations."

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Ming's regime was in decline, and the building would collapse. Some Feng Shui masters believed that Ming Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing. During the 200th year of the capital of Yan in the Ming Dynasty, Yingzong was captured, Wuzong was surrounded by Yang and Li Zicheng surrounded the capital. It was indeed troubled and the political situation remained unstable.

Beijing is too close to the northern border, and it is indeed easy to cause anxiety in the Ming regime. However, the reason for the decline of the Ming regime was not in geography, but in the feudal rulers. If this were not the case, how could the Qing Dynasty occupy the capital in Beijing for more than two hundred years?

China's famous geomantic treasures (3)

Nanjing: Tiger standing on the dragon plate, surrounded by mountains and rivers

There is a stone city on the west side of Nanjing. Its former site is in Qingliang Mountain in present-day Nanjing. It resembles a squatting tiger , and on the east side there is Zhongshan, which resembles a winding dragon. Therefore, people have always referred to Nanjing as the "Tiger in the Dragon Pan". This name has been around for a long time. According to Zhang Bo's "Wu Lu" of the Jin Dynasty, Liu Bei sent Zhuge Liang to Nanjing. Zhuge Liang sighed: "Zhongshan Dragon Plate, Stone Tiger Standing, this emperor's residence." Bei Zhou Yuxin wrote in "Sai Jiang Nan Fu" Yun: "In the past, the tiger occupies the dragon plate, and the yellow flag and purple air are added." Liu Zhiji of the Tang Dynasty explained in "Shitong·Shuzhi": "The tiger occupies the dragon plate, and the emperor shows its extreme respect." Li Bai in the Tang Dynasty "Eternal King East Tour Song" says: "The dragon pan tiger is in the emperor's state, and the emperor Jinling visits the ancient hill." It can be seen that the term "tiger in the dragon pan" has been recognized by people.

Many dynasties and regimes established their capitals in Nanjing successively. The Soochow of the Three Kingdoms and later the Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen successively established their capitals here, known as the "Ancient Capital of the Six Dynasties" in history. Later, the Southern Tang Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Revolution of 1911, and the Chiang Kai-shek National Government all established their capitals here.

The name of Nanjing has changed a lot. During the Warring States Period, Chu was named "Jinling Town", Qin was called "Moling", Dongwu was called "Jianye", Jin and Southern Dynasty was called "Jiankang", Ming Dynasty was called "Nanjing", and Southern Tang and Qing Dynasty were called "Jiankang". "Jiangning Mansion" was called "Tianjing" by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Nanjing has a dangerous terrain, surrounded by mountains, high in the north and low in the south, making it easy to defend but not easy to attack. The Qinhuai River flows into the west, and there are many mountains and rocks along the river. From southwest to northeast, there are Shitou Mountain, Ma'an Mountain, Siwang Mountain, Lulong Mountain, Mufu Mountain, the highest peak of the Ningzhen Mountain Range in the northeast, Zhongshan Mountain, Fugui Mountain, Fuzhou Mountain, and Jilong Mountain to the north, and Changmingzhou and Zhanggongzhou to the south. Sandbanks such as, Bailu and other sandbanks formed Jiajiang, and these natural barriers guarded Nanjing, making this precious land valued by the rulers of the past generations.

Not only that, Nanjing is also in an environment of developed economy and convenient transportation. The Taihu Plain and Qiantang River Basin in the southeast are granaries with abundant resources and have formed a good economic foundation. The river can be traced back to Jiujiang and Wuhan, and the river can be descended to Shanghai. Together with the Qinhuai River and Taihu Lake water system, Nanjing extends in all directions.

It is said that as early as 333 BC, the king of Chu Wei destroyed Yue and built a city on Qingliang Mountain, and buried gold to suppress the king's aura. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang rose up, and Confucian scholars Feng Guoyong, Tao An, and Ye Dui all advocated taking Nanjing to determine the world. "The History of the Ming Dynasty·Feng Guoyong Biography" records that Feng said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Jinling is the capital of the emperor and the king is the capital of the emperor. The first is the foundation." Zhu Yuanzhang once ordered Confucian scholars to write poems for Zhongshan. Extremely, Zhongshan is a beacon dragon." This is a poem that praises Nanjing's emperor's spirit. Zhu Yuanzhang shouted out loudly, Deng Boyan thought Taizu was angry and was scared to death.

Zhu Yuanzhang listened to the suggestions of many Confucian scholars, and Liu Ji and others worked together to construct Nanjing carefully. Volume 21 of "Ming Shilu" records the construction of city walls and palaces by Zhu Yuanzhang in the twenty-sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty to Zhengzheng (1366): "In August, Gengshushuo expanded and built Kangcheng. At the beginning, the northwest of the old city of Jiankang controlled Dajiang and the east Entering Baixiamen, it is far and wide from Zhongshan Mountain, and the old one is in the city. Because Yuannantai is a palace, it is a bit humble. Shangnai ordered Liu Ji to make a reservation and make a new palace in the sun of Zhongshan, in the old city. Dongbai was two miles away from Xiamen, so a new city was built. The northeast was the toe of Zhongshan Mountain, and it stretched for more than fifty miles from Zhou Huifan. The regulations are majestic, based on the mountains and rivers Shengyan."

The feudal literati of the Ming Dynasty believed that there were only two topography where the world could be the capital of the emperor, one was Nanjing and the other was Beijing. "Research on the Old News of the Sun" quoted the Ming Dynasty "Yang Wenmin Collection": "The situation of the world is majestic and magnificent, but it is no more than Jinling. If the terrain is wide and the barrier is dangerous, it will always hold the barbarians of the Central Plains. Over the Yanji. Although the cloud Changan has the solid foundation of the letter, Luoyi is the capital of the world, the emperor's capital, and the foundation of hundreds of millions of years of peace, Mo Jinling and Yanji Ruo.” Therefore, the Ming Dynasty has always had a capital. Beijing was still a dispute for the founding of the capital of Nanjing. Ming Chengzu finally moved his capital to Beijing, but he still left a set of central institutions in Nanjing to be responsible for southern affairs.

In the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, there is also a dispute over whether the capital is designated Beijing or Nanjing. Hong Xiuquan insisted on making Nanjing the capital. He believed that Nanjing was connected to the three Chus, controlled the two rivers, surrounded by mountains, surrounded by the Yangtze River, Zhongfu had a dragon and pan, and Shicheng had the shape of a tiger. In 1853, Nanjing was the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. In 1864, it was captured by the Hunan Army. The peasant revolution failed miserably. Many historians believe that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom should not be the capital of Nanjing. It is too early to make the revolution, which can only degrade the revolutionary will.

Mr. Feng Shui has described the direction of the dragon veins in Nanjing. Li Sicong said when talking about Nanjing’s search for dragons in "Kanyu Miscellaneous Works": "If the dragon of the cow head in Nanjing, starting from Wawu Mountain, from Donglu Mountain to Diaoshui Puli, it is born in Hengshan, Yuntai Mountain, Jishan, and Zutang Mountain. It is the Saturn that makes heaven and wealth. There is one branch on the left, where Wushan is born to the end of Xishan Bridge, and after the elbow, the mountains and hills are born. The branch on the right is Cuiping Mountain, which descends from a rotten stone gang, and turns into a dragon. It ends at Madian. The pumping Jiangjun Mountain, passing Huangnigang, from Zhuxi Temple, to Andemen, Shengyuhuatai, and ends at the upper gate of Jiagangmen."

In addition, there are many feng shui treasures. Due to space limitations, I will not introduce them in detail here.

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